British-trained guards used torture to obtain false confessions, according to the report.
A Belfast business owned by the U.K. government has funded training for hundreds of prison guards who have tortured inmates in Bahrain prison, according to a report from Reprieve released on Friday.
RELATED:
One Torturer to Another: Kissinger Honors Bahrain FM With Award
The report alleges that the state-owned Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas Ltd, or NI-CO, received funding from the U.K Foreign Office, which trained Bahraini authorities to torture innocent inmates into false confessions and failed to adequately investigate allegations of torture.
The report, “Belfast to Bahrain: the torture trail,” said that NI-CO, a consultancy company, is deeply involved in Bahrain’s penal and government system where “a victim could be abused by NI-CO trained police, tortured in prison by NI-CO trained guards, and then have their torture allegation investigated and dismissed by the NI-CO trained ombudsman.”
NI-CO provides training to Bahrain’s Interior Ministry Ombudsman, which was exposed for purposefully ignoring complaints of torture from Mohamed Ramadan who currently sits on death row after a forced confession.
RELATED:
Bahrain, a Brutal Clinton Donor, Enjoyed ‘Expedited’ Access
Ramadan, a father of three, said he was tortured for days until making a false confession over an attack on police during anti-government protests in 2014, on the third anniversary of the “Arab Spring” uprisings around the Middle East. After more than two years of ignoring Ramadan’s complaints, Ramadan’s family was intimidated and continues to campaign for his release.
The report says that seven innocent men are facing the death penalty in Bahrain after being tortured into the false confessions of crimes.
The tiny monarchy off the coast of Saudi Arabia experienced widespread anti-government protests during the 2011 Arab Spring. Unlike some other states who experienced uprisings, the Bahraini monarchy remained intact after carrying out a brutal crackdown on opposition forces with the full participation of a Saudi-led military coalition.
Bahrain declared its independence from the U.K. in 1971 and the two states have since enjoyed close economic and military relations. Over US$1 million was given to NI-CO by the U.K. Foreign Office from 2015 to 2016 as part of a human rights aid package for Bahrain, the Reprieve report stated.
